Adjustable support



Jan. 28, 1969 s. KLANGOS 3,424,422

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT Filed Jan. 16, 1967.

INVENTOR.

United States Patent Office 3,424,422 Patented Jan. 28, 1969 6 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A portable suspension support for a fountainsyringe or similar device, which includes an upper and a lower.

hook, the upper hook being adapted for engagement with any fixtureavailable at the site where the device is to be used and the lower hookbeing attached to the device, said hooks being attached in a directadjustable manner by a threaded shank on the lower hook fitting in athreaded socket in the upper hook and being attached in an indirectvertically adjustable manner by a housing containing a springretractable reel having a flexible element coiled thereon with thehousing having a threaded stud fitting in the socket in the upper hookand the flexible element having a threaded socket on its outer endwithin which the threaded shank of the lower hook is secured.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a portableadjustable suspension support for a fountain syringe or similar deviceso that the device can be suspended from any suitable support availablein a room or at the site where the device is required to be used.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide asimple, compact, inexpensive and extremely adjustable support for afountain syringe or the like device, which support can position thedevice at any desired height with relation to the user.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a verylightweight and compact portable support for a fountain syringe orsimilar device, which support can be easily carried in a handbag or thelike.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective of the adjustable support constructedin accordance with the present invention and showing the same employedfor suspending a fountain syringe or similar device from a bathroomshower curtain rod;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view of the device, as shown in FIGURE1;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical, cross-sectional view, taken substantially online 33 of FIGURE 2, and illustrating in detail the spring retractablereel for the flexible element which carries the lower hook that isattached to the fountain syringe or similar device;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view, taken on the line 44 ofFIGURE 4 and showing in section the means for locking the reel invarious positions, against retraction by the spring, so that thefountain syringe is securely disposed at a set vertical position withrelation to the suspension point or to the user;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the suspension support showing themanner in which the support is assembled for supporting the fountainsyringe a shorter distance from a room fixture, such as a towel rack,and,

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the adjustable support, identical inassembly to that shown in FIGURE 5,

and showing the support suspended from a faucet fixture.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, andinitially to FIGURES 1-4, the portable adjustable suspension support,generally designated 'by the reference numeral 10 is particularlyadapted for support ing a fountain syringe 12 from a fixture or supportavailable in the room or at the site where the syringe or similar deviceis required to be used. In FIGURES 1 and 2, the support is shown assuspending the fountain syringe 12 from a conventional bathroom showercurtain rod 14.

The adjustable support 10 includes an upper suspension member or upperhook 16, which has a straight shank portion 18 having a lower endportion 20 and an upper end portion formed integral with a hook 22adapted to engage over the shower curtain rod 14.

The portable support 10 further includes a lower suspension member orlower hook 24, having a straight shank portion 26 with an upper or outerfree end portion 28 that is exteriorly threaded and a lower end portionthat is formed integrally with a hook 30 adapted to be positionedthrough the conventional aperture 32 in the closed end flap 34 of theconventional fountain syringe 12.

The upper and lower hook-like suspension members 16 and 24 are formedfrom a sturdy, lightweight and durable material, such as any well knowncommercial plastic materials.

The support 10 further includes a housing 36, which is formed in twocomplemental sections 38 and 40, such sections being formed from plasticmaterial and having mating upper end portions 42 and 44, which definethe upper end or head of the housing with the sections being joinedtogether by a screw 46 having the inner plain portion 48 of its shankfitted in the plain transverse bore 50 in the half or section 42 of thehousing with the head 52 of the bolt seated in a surface recess 54formed in the section 36 and with the outer exteriorly threaded endportion 54 of the bolt threaded into a transverse, internally threadedbore 56 formed in the half or section 44 and disposed in alignment withthe bore 50, as shown in FIGURE 3.

The sections or halves may be otherwise removably secured together insuch a manner as to form the streamlined housing 36 with the headportion 42. An externally threaded stud 58 upstands from the head 42 andis adapted to be threaded into an internally threaded bore or socket 60formed in the outer free end portion 20 of the shank 18 of the upperhook suspension member 16.

A cylindrical shaft 62 is rot-atably mounted in suitable bearingopenings 64 and 66 formed in the opposing sides of the sections so thatthe shaft extends transversely through the housing and supports a reel68 which is fixed thereon. An elongated flexible element 70, which maybe in the form of a narrow, ribbon-like flexible strip or strap, isattached at one end to the reel portion of the shaft and is coiledthereon and adapted to be wound onto and unwound from the reel means.

The flexible element 70 has an outer end portion 72 which is providedwith an internally threaded socket 74, the socket having a head portion76 provided with a slot within which the end portion 72 of the flexibleelement 70 is fitted and secured, as by mean-s of a rivet 78. Theinternal threaded diameter 80 of the socket member 74 is identical tothe internal diameter of the socket 60 and is adapted to receive theexteriorly threaded free end portion 28 of the shank 26 of the lowerhook suspension member 24 which is attached to the fountain syringe 12.A concentrically coiled ribbon-type spring 80 is fixed by a fastener 82to the shaft and by a pin 84 to the side of the half or section 36 andconstitutes a retraction spring for constantly urging the lower hooksuspension member toward the housing and the underside thereof which isprovided with an opening 86 through which the flexible element 70extends.

Locking means 88 is provided for locking the shaft against rotation soas to positively locate the lower hook suspension member 24 and theattached fountain syringe 12 at any desired height and when the lockingmeans is released, the spring means is operative to retract the lowerhook suspension member 24 and to draw the same upwardly with the headportion 76 passing into the opening 86 so that the socket bears on theunderside of the housing and a very small and compact unit is realized.The locking means 88 comprises a locking slide plate 90, which is formedwith an axial slot 92 having an enlarged intermediate portion 94. Theprojecting end 96 of the shaft is coaxially reduced and formednon-circular and is of a dimension to be received in the slot 92 whenthe slide plate 90 is moved downwardly. The slide plate is slidablyattached to the outer side of the section or half 40 by headed pins 98and 100 and is formed with a transverse slightly protruding rib orshoudler 102 which is adapted to be engaged by the thumb or finger of auser so as to slide the locking slide plate 90 downwardly and move thesquare or noncircular end 96 out of the enlargement 94, wherein it canrotate so as to permit rotation of the reel, into the upper portion ofthe slot 92, wherein it cannot rotate so that the shift and reel cannotrotate, as is obvious from a consideration of FIGURES 3 and 4.

It can be appreciated that the upper hook suspension member can beattached to any fixture in the room or site where the fountain syringe12 or similar device is to be used and, as exemplarily shown, the samemay be hooked over the convention-a1 shower curtain rod 14. The lowerhook suspension member 24 is easily attached to the fountain syringe 12and the fountain syringe 12 can be drawn downwardly until it is disposedat the desired vertical position with relation to the suspension point,that is, the shower curtain rod 14, and the user. When it reaches suchpoint, by a simple application of finger pressure on the shoulder 102,the plate 90 may be moved so as to lock the shaft and reel againstrotation and insure that the fountain syringe 12 will be maintained atthe set height. After the fountain syringe has been used, it can beremoved from the lower hook suspension member 24 and such member can beretracted by simply sliding the slide plate so as to position thereduced non-circular end 96 of the shaft 62 in the enlargement 94 of theslide locking plate, whereby the spring 80 is then operative to rotateautomatically the shaft and reel and wind in the flexible element 70until the head portion 72 enters the opening 86 and the lower hooksuspension member is firmly engaged with the underside of the housing36.

In some instances, the support means can be attached to a lower fixture,such as the towel rack 104 of FIG- URE and it is not necessary to employthe flexible element 70. In such instances, the housing 36 is not usedand, instead, the free exteriorly threaded end portion 28 of the shank26 of the adjustable support is threaded into the socket 60 formed inthe lower free end portion 20 of the shank portion 18 of the uppersuspension hook 16 which has its hook portion 22 in engagement with thetowel bar 104. Thus, the adjustable support can be attached to afixture, without utilizing the extensible flexible strip 70 and, in thisregard, it is to be noted that the internal diameter of the socket 80 onthe end of the flexible strip 70 is the same as the threaded internaldiameter of the socket 60 and that the external diameter of theexteriorly threaded end portion 28 is the same as the external diameterof the exteriorly threaded stud 58 on the housing 36, whereby either thehousing 36 or the lower hook suspension member 24 may be threadinglyfitted in the socket 60.

It is also intended that the adjustable support can be attached to otherfixtures, such as the faucet 106, which is shown in FIGURE 6, or adoorknob or the like. In

such instance, the lower hook suspensin member 24 is threaded directlyinto the upper hook suspension member 16, which is hooked over the stemof the faucet fixture. However, the lower hook suspension member is notthreaded tightly but is disposed so that the hook 30 is at right anglesto the hook 22.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An adjustable support for a fountain syringe or the like comprisingan upper hook suspension member for engagement with a horizontallyorientated support, a lower hook suspension member for attachment to afountain syringe, said members having shank portions with free endportions and an internally threaded socket in the free end portion ofthe shank of the upper hook suspension member, extensible meansinterconnecting the shank portions and including a housing having a headportion provided with an upstanding exteriorly threaded stud threaded inthe socket in the free end portion of the shank of the upper hooksuspension member, a reel rotlatably mounted in the housing,automatically retractable spring means fixed to the reel and to thehousing, a flexible element wound on said reel and said housing havingan underside formed with an opening through which the flexible elementextends, said flexible element having an outer end portion provided withan internally threaded socket, the free end portion of the shank portionof the lower hook suspension member being threaded in said socket andsaid socket being of an internal diameter equal to the internal diameterof the socket in the free end portion of the shank portion of the upperhook suspension member and means locking the lower hook suspensionmember at various heights relative to the upper hook suspension memberand the associated housing, said locking means including a slide plateslidably mounted on the side of the housing, said shaft having aprojecting noncircular end portion, said slide plate having an axialslot formed intermediate its ends with an enlargement, said slot beingof a width to slidably receive the non-circular end portion and preventrotation of the shaft and the enlargement permitting rotation of theshaft when the noncircular end portion is positioned therein.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said slide plate is a relativelythin plate and has an outer face provided with a slightly protrudingtransversely oriented finger-engaging shoulder for finger manipulationof the slide locking plate.

3. A convertible support for a fountain syringe or the like, comprising:a first hook assembly having a threaded socket on the shank end thereof,a housing with an extensible elongated member having one end mountedtherein and a free end, said housing having a threaded portion thereonreceivable in said socket and a second socket substantially the same assaid first socket mounted on the free end of said member, and a secondhook assembly with a threaded end on the shank thereof receivable insaid first and second sockets.

the second hook assembly at various positions relative to said firsthook.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said locking means includes a slideplate slidably mounted on the side of the housing, said shaft having aprojecting noncircular end portion, said slide plate having an axialslot formed intermediate its ends with an enlargement, said slot beingof a width to slidably receive the noncircular end portion and preventrotation of the shaft and the enlargement permitting rotation of theshaft when the noncircular end portion is positioned therein.

6. The device of claim 3 wherein the support has said removable housingremoved therefrom with the threaded end of said second hook assemblyreceived in the threaded socket of said first hook assembly to supportthe second hook and the syringe thereon from said first book assembly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Shaw 248-304 XR Look 248-304 XRO'berdorf et a1. 242-107.4 Boal 24 8-330 XR King 248-304 XR Rogers eta1. 242107.4

ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

O J. FRANKLIN FOSS, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. c1} X.R.

